Fuel And Kids

[Paigntonian]

BBC Newsnight quotes someone saying kids that grow up in 'cold' homes and 'five times' more likely to experience mental health problems than children who grow up in 'warm homes. If that is true it must have been true in 1945, in 1990 or 2019...

[davebro]

We had an old fire range with a side oven - mum used to put our jimjams in to warm them up. Ice inside was a luxury - the walls were usually streaming with water! At least you didn't need a fridge in those days.

[ToraToraTora]

You had an old fire range? Loooxury!

[bhg481]

Could it just be that people who have mental health problems are more likely than average to breed children who have mental health problems. On top of that, people with mental health problems are more likely to be low-earners and hence can't afford to heat their home properly. In other words, it's not the cold house creating the mental health problems, it's the parents' mental health problems making the house cold.

[davebro]

Could be - if it can be shown that intelligent parents unable to heat their homes sufficiently (in the past) produced intelligent children.

More research needed.

[tomus42]

It doubt there's an actual correlation between temperature and mental health.

Poverty or tight fisted parents and mental health perhaps.

[youngmafbog]

I know plenty who grew up with central heating and have serious mental health issues so I reckon this is a load of old pony.

And yes I grew up with central heating from the age of 3. Although it should be remembered it didnt work anything like it does today plus my father was as tight as a gnomes foreskin so wouldn't put it on much (parents didnt really like it on, I guess they were more used to the cold),

BHG is closer to the mark

[fender62]

anyone who had coal fires in one room knows about the cold, no central heating and toilet out the back, i remember as i used to get up
5:30am to light the ***, frost on the inside of window panes.
clothes line across the living room in winter to dry clothes, until we got one of those wooden clothes horses, brought parafin heater into my bedroom to warm it, yea it stank... it was hard but we survived.

[ToraToraTora]

We moved into a council house in the 70s, brand new with state of the art central heating! Mum banned us from using it, cost too much! We had a cylinder emersion heater for hot water and a gas fire in the lounge and that was it!

[davebro]

We had the coal fire on all year - even if just for the hot water.
In winter we would "back up" the fire in the evening & cover it with soaked newspaper to keep it ticking over till the morning. No bathroom & after we swapped the outside tippler for a WC it often froze in winter.

[Atheist]

Davebro, it's amazing that you survived to adulthood. We used to put a brick in the coal range oven and wrap it an old jumper to use as a hot water bottle. We were very fortunate. And we got free lollies by putting NHS orange juice in a glass out on the window cill with a twig dipped in for a lolly stick.

[davebro]

//Davebro, it's amazing that you survived to adulthood.//

Aint that a fact - I had bronchial pneumonia when I was 8 & my bed was brought into the living room. I was laid up for 3 weeks & when I came out of the fever I asked for some grapes. The GP was so relieved he went out & bought me a huge bunch.

[New Judge]

I'll never forget that first day at t'pit.

Me an' mi father worked a 72 hour shift, then wi walked home 43 mile through t'snow in us bare feet, huddled inside us clothes med out o' old sacks.

Eventually we trudged over t'hill until wi could see t'street light twinklin' in our village.

Mi father smiled down at mi through t'icicles hangin' off his nose. "Nearly home now lad", he said.

We stumbled into t'house and stood there freezin' cold and tired out, shiverin' and miserable, in front o' t' meagre fire. Any road, mi mam says "Cheer up, lads. I've got you some nice brown bread and butter for yer tea."

Ee, mi father went crackers. He reached out and gently pulled mi mam towards 'im by t'throat. "You big fat, idle ugly wart", he said. "You gret useless spawny-eyed parrot-faced wazzock." ('E had a way wi words, mi father. He'd bin to college, y'know). "You've been out playin' bingo all afternoon instead o' gettin' some proper snap ready for me an' this lad", he explained to mi poor, little, purple-faced mam.

Then, turnin' to me he said "Arthur", (He could never remember mi name), "here's half a crown. Nip down to t'chip 'oyl an' get us a nice piece o' 'addock for us tea. Man cannot live by bread alone."

He were a reet tater, mi father. He said as 'ow workin' folk should have some dignity an' pride an' self respect, an' as 'ow they should come home to summat warm an' cheerful.

An' then he threw mi mam on t'fire.

We didn't 'ave no tellies or shoes or bedclothes.
We med us own fun in them days.
Do you know, when I were a lad you could get a tram down into t'town, buy three new suits an' an ovvercoat, four pair o' good boots, go an' see Frank Randall at t'Palace Theatre, get blind drunk, 'ave some steak an' chips, bunch o' bananas an' three stone o' monkey nuts an' still 'ave change out of a farthing.

We'd lots o' things in them days they 'aven't got today - rickets, diptheria, Hitler and my, we did look well goin' to school wi' no backside in us trousers an' all us little 'eads painted purple because we 'ad ringworm.

They don't know they're born today!!!

[LadyCG]

NJ, my husband had that in audio format on his phone and played it to me a few years ago. I nearly choked laughing !!

[New Judge]

"Capstick Comes Home", by the late Tony Capstick, LadyCG

[LadyCG]

I could remember the Capstick part. I played it to someone at work and they nearly fell of their chair laughing. Brilliant :-)

[LadyCG]

[davebro]

Yeah - but when you look at accounts like "Angela's Ashes" it's not just a source of laughter.

[tiggerblue10]

I can't recall much about heating and stuff like that in my childhood (70s). All I remember is having a plug in heater with the two glowing bars which we would have in the living room. I don't remember the cold.

I spent one Christmas in Cyprus when I was 18 and nearly froze at night times and getting out of bed in the morning was a struggle. Most homes don't have heating systems or carpeting as its warm most of the time but it's so cold during the few winter months there.

[davebro]

Cold is fine when you're fit & equipped for it. I've spent many times camping out in winter with the appropriate gear & never felt cold. In fact climbing mountains / fell walking / etc. while you are moving the problem is getting too hot!

[fender62]

greta thunberg has gone quiet, climate activists et al, as was metioned no so bad when your young, us older folks feel it though, nice now.., im sitting in my garden with a nice ale, seems no government ever thought..erm what if, kicked the can down the road, dumped coal fired power stations for gas fired, maybe thsy should mothballed them in case of emergency...like now, i actually didnt mind a coal fire, pain in the proverbial but...had my own brushes as well, still have them in the shed, horder erm probably.